Old Gods
=History= :As the Titans made their way across the primordial landscape, they encountered a number of hostile elemental beings. These elementals, who worshipped a race of unfathomably evil beings known only as the Old Gods, vowed to drive the Titans back and keep their world inviolate from the invaders' metallic touch. :The Pantheon, disturbed by the Old Gods' penchant for evil, waged war upon the elementals and their dark masters. The Old Gods' armies were led by the most powerful elemental lieutenants: Ragnaros the Firelord, Therazane the Stonemother, Al'Akir the Windlord, and Neptulon the Tidehunter. Their chaotic forces raged across the face of the world and clashed with the colossal Titans. Though the elementals were powerful beyond mortal comprehension, their combined forces could not stop the mighty Titans. One by one, the elemental lords fell, and their forces dispersed. :The Pantheon shattered the Old Gods' citadels and chained the four evil gods far beneath the surface of the world. Without the Old Gods' power to keep their raging spirits bound to the physical world, the elementals were banished to an abyssal plane, where they would contend with one another for all eternity. With the elementals' departure, nature calmed, and the world settled into a peaceful harmony. The Titans saw that the threat was contained and set to work. *'Note:' The Old Gods seem to be partially based on the legends of the Great Old Ones and the Outer Gods, stemming from the legend of Cthulhu written by H.P. Lovecraft. =The Five= There are only 5 Old Gods in all of Azeroth. 3 were chained deep beneath the surface of the world, one was killed, and one is unaccounted for. The 3 continued to exert their will, though in far more limited ways. *They corrupted the great benevolent Dragon Aspect Neltharion, who created the extremely powerful Demon Soul, which they were to use to set themselves free. The Demon Soul was taken from Neltharion and eventually destroyed. *They corrupted the Highborne of the Night Elves, and used them to lure the Burning Legion to Azeroth. Many of the Highborn were transformed into the Naga, who serve the Old Gods still. *They managed to throw much of Azeroth into chaos with the destruction of the Well of Eternity and the weakening of the guardian Dragonflights, including driving one of the 5 Dragon Aspects mad. *Their influence over the Aqir is probably why they and their descendents (the Qiraji and Nerubians) are so evil. The Named One C'Thun is the only one of the Old Gods to be named so far. He is trapped deep beneath the ruined temples of Ahn'Qiraj, where he has exerted his will for thousands of years over the Qiraji, who in turn command the Silithid. C'Thun is the final boss in the Temple of Ahn'Qiraj. Players will get to kill him, but doing so will be the most difficult thing to do in the game until the Naxxramas instance is released. Speculation * He likely took control of Ahn'Qiraj soon after the split of the Azi Aqir, or may have even been part of the cause of the split. * It's unknown if the Qiraji or Silithid were part of the Aqir race. Some suggest that the Qiraji were created by C'Thun from the Silithid to control the Silithid. Others believe the Silithid are merely a lesser slave race, while the Qiraji are the true descendents of the Aqir. This second theory seems more likely, since the Northern counterpart to Ahn'Qiraj, Azjol-Nerub, was inhabited by the Nerubians, who are an intelligent race, unlike the Silithid, which are controlled by a hive-mind. However, Qiraji warriors bear a very strong resemblance to the Faceless Ones. The Forgotten One It's very likely that a second Old God's predicament mirrors that of C'Thun. Deep beneath the ruins of Azjol-Nerub lives a huge, terrible creature known only as a Forgotten One. It so closely resembles C'Thun that it must be another Old God. The Forgotten One commands the Faceless Ones. Rumors suggest that C'Thun also commands some Faceless Ones. Speculation *It seems likely that the Forgotten One tried to do the same to the Nerubian Empire that C'Thun did to Ahn'Qiraj, but eventually failed. The Nerubian race dwindled, and their cities crumbled. When the Lich King arrived in Northrend, he succeeded in conquering the Nerubians and making them his undead servants. What few free Nerubians remain do not seem to be under the Forgotten One's control. It seems possible that the Lich King may eventually conquer the Forgotten One as well. The Third One There has been no mention of where the third imprisoned Old God is located. Speculation *It's possible that the Old God is located in the Maelstrom, where he commands the Naga (the Naga were created by theOld Gods from the Night Elves that sank beneath the ocean when the Well of Eternety was sundered and became the Great Maelstrom). The Dead One thumb|The Master's Glaive contains a huge fossil that is supposed to be the remains of an Old God One of the Old Gods was killed by the Titans. Its remains can be found in Darkshore. The Misplaced One One of the Old Gods is unaccounted for. Only 3 are imprisoned, and one is dead. Where's the 5th? Speculation *Maybe it fled to another world. Maybe it's not evil anymore. Maybe the Titans took it with them. Currently there is no lore to lead in any direction. Sulfuron Speculation *Within the Molten Core is a creature known as the Sulfuron Harbinger. "Sulfuron" is not the creature's proper name, as a harbinger is someone that heralds or foreshadows the coming of something else (in this case, something named Sulfuron). Ragnaros the Firelord exclaims "TASTE THE FLAMES OF SULFURON!" while in combat (not "Sulfuras", so he cannot be referring to his weapon; it would also be very bizzare for him to be referring to his servant, the harbinger). As a servant of the Old Gods himself, it seems probable that Ragnaros is referring to his master - and that "Sulfuron", then, is the name of an Old God revered by fire elementals. This is also supported by the use of that name in other areas (Sulfuron ingot, Sulfuron hammer, and Ragnaros' former home of Sulfuron Keep). =Elemental Lieutenants of the Old Gods:= * Ragnaros the Firelord (fire elemental) * Therazane the Stonemother (earth elemental) * Al'Akir the Windlord (air elemental) * Neptulon the Tidehunter (water elemental) =Present-Day= *C'Thun awaits his rebirth in Silithus. *Ragnaros and his fire elemental armies are locked in a war with Nefarian for dominion over Blackrock Mountain and, through its conquest, the rest of Azeroth. *All four Elemental Lords hate each other, especially Ragnaros and the most powerful Elemental Lord, Neptulon. Therefore, it is not surprising that many of Neptulon's servants are in Azeroth, working against the other 3 Lords. His agent, Duke Hydraxis (tb) (leader of the Hydraxian Waterlords), gives players high-level quests involving killing other types of elementals, eventually leading you into Molten Core to fight the Firelords. Another agent, Tsunaman at Sun Rock Retreat, gives much lower-level quests against the fire elementals in the Charred Vale. Neptulon, widely acknowledged to be the most evil of the Elemental lords, seems to be utilizing the mortal races to weaken the forces of the other three Elemental Lords without risking his own. *It's possible that Therazane is the Earthmother that the Tauren worship. While it is likely that the Earthmother is a goddess similar to Elune that arose after the Titans shaped Azeroth, Therazane is well known as the most benevolent of the Elemental Lords, unlike the chaotic Ragnaros and Al'Akir, or the evil Neptulon. =The Number of Old Gods Contradiction= According to the War of the Ancients Trilogy, there are 3 Old Gods still living, imprisoned and chained by the Titans deep beneath the surface of Azeroth. The Warcraft III manual states that there were 5 Old Gods, but by the time of release the World of Warcraft official site stated that there were 4: :The Pantheon shattered the Old Gods' citadels and chained '''the four evil gods' far beneath the surface of the world. Without the Old Gods' power to keep their raging spirits bound to the physical world, the elementals were banished to an abyssal plane, where they would contend with one another for all eternity.'' This created a huge confusion and lead to many pages worth of speculation on different forums. However, the World of Warcraft official site was later updated to solve this confusion: :The Pantheon shattered the Old Gods' citadels and chained '''the five evil gods' far beneath the surface of the world. Without the Old Gods' power to keep their raging spirits bound to the physical world, the elementals were banished to an abyssal plane, where they would contend with one another for all eternity. '' Category:Lore Category:Religions Category:Creatures Category:Intelligent Creatures